His article mentions that Joe Blanton is a prime target for the Twins, which, I suppose shouldn't be surprising. He also mentions pitchers such as Kevin Correia, Brett Myers, John Lannan, Mike Pelfrey, and Vincente Padilla (???) as possible targets.

I would expect the Twins to sign at least one of these types and think that Blanton, Myers, or Pelfrey could be decent additions and provide some depth/insurance for the development of Kyle Gibson and Liam Hendricks. Hopefully the price will be right if adding any of these.

Blanton would't be one of my top choices. I'd rather they got after someone like Carlos Villanueva who has pitched both as starter and reliever. If we gave him a 3-year deal, he could eventually help in relief when our rotation of the future - Diamond, Gibson, Meyer, Berrios, and maybe Salcedo are in place.

His article mentions that Joe Blanton is a prime target for the Twins, which, I suppose shouldn't be surprising. He also mentions pitchers such as Kevin Correia, Brett Myers, John Lannan, Mike Pelfrey, and Vincente Padilla (???) as possible targets.

I would expect the Twins to sign at least one of these types and think that Blanton, Myers, or Pelfrey could be decent additions and provide some depth/insurance for the development of Kyle Gibson and Liam Hendricks. Hopefully the price will be right if adding any of these.

I guess I feel that if they aren't going to go after at least a #2 and #3 type pitcher in free agency (and I don't mean a pitcher who would qualify as a #2 or #3 for us, but a real #2 and #3), then there's no reason to go after anyone. Blanton would be a waste of money

2010- 4.82 era, era+ 85 whip 1.417. 2011- 5.01 era, era+ 77 whip 1.476. 2012- 4.71 era era+ 84 whip 1.262 and he'll be 32. All these stats, of course, in the National League.
How much do you expect these to go up in the AL?
He looks like he'd fit right into last years rotation!

Blanton would't be one of my top choices. I'd rather they got after someone like Carlos Villanueva who has pitched both as starter and reliever. If we gave him a 3-year deal, he could eventually help in relief when our rotation of the future - Diamond, Gibson, Meyer, Berrios, and maybe Salcedo are in place.

Villanueva is an interesting option that hasn't been mentioned much over the last few weeks. I also wonder about the status of Edwin Jackson and Shaun Marcum and what is required to get those mid-tier type of guys. The fact the Nationals let Jackson go and don't seem interested in re-signing him, and Jackson's bouncing around from team to team the last number of years, make one wonder about his mental makeup in addition to his stuff.

He's put up FIPs in the high 3's and xFIP's in the low 3's the past two seasons, with K rates around 7.5 per nine. It's certainly debatable whether it's worth what he'll cost to have him pitch for a team that appears at the moment to not be planning on contending in 2013. But he's clearly a decent bet to be better than the likely in-house solutions to fill one of the non-Diamond rotation spots.

He's put up FIPs in the high 3's and xFIP's in the low 3's the past two seasons, with K rates around 7.5 per nine. It's certainly debatable whether it's worth what he'll cost to have him pitch for a team that appears at the moment to not be planning on contending in 2013. But he's clearly a decent bet to be better than the likely in-house solutions to fill one of the non-Diamond rotation spots.[/QUOTE]

So a poor defense has caused his ERA to be inflated? I ask because our defense wasn't good last year and it just got worse a few days ago

He's put up FIPs in the high 3's and xFIP's in the low 3's the past two seasons, with K rates around 7.5 per nine. It's certainly debatable whether it's worth what he'll cost to have him pitch for a team that appears at the moment to not be planning on contending in 2013. But he's clearly a decent bet to be better than the likely in-house solutions to fill one of the non-Diamond rotation spots.[/QUOTE]

Interesting, I didn't even realize that. FWIW: Bill James has him as a 4.10 ERA guy this year. It also looks like he has a rather high HR%, maybe a move to Target Field could help him a bit? With that xFIP and FIP the past two years, maybe he is a good "buy low" candidate. I could get behind a one year deal for him. Thanks for pointing that out, I never would have checked to be honest.

He's put up FIPs in the high 3's and xFIP's in the low 3's the past two seasons, with K rates around 7.5 per nine. It's certainly debatable whether it's worth what he'll cost to have him pitch for a team that appears at the moment to not be planning on contending in 2013. But he's clearly a decent bet to be better than the likely in-house solutions to fill one of the non-Diamond rotation spots.[/QUOTE]

So a poor defense has caused his ERA to be inflated? I ask because our defense wasn't good last year and it just got worse a few days ago[/QUOTE]It looks like his HR% increased it, as well as a slight increase in BABIP and decrease in strand rate, who knows and maybe some bad luck?, and once Hicks is up our defense will probably be better then last year (OF wise), but since he actually strikes out people (unlike the rest of our rotation) it shouldn't matter as much? It is hard to argue with that K/BB ratio.

I don't think xFIP and FIP are an end all be all, but it does suggest that he was a bit undervalued.